BY INDUN SILONG
KUCHING: Surviving on vegetables and chicken parts that have been thrown away by market is an unavoidable choice for Nurul Syafiqah Bujang, 27, who lives in an old shipping container at Jalan Kuap here with her husband and two children.
Nurul and her husband, Muhammad Aizul Shafiq Goh, previously relied on their incomes as labourers but lost their sources of income due to the Covid-19 outbreak a few months ago.
“When the disease spread, we were unable to work for money while
raising two young children.
“So, if there are rejected vegetables such as cangkuk manis (a leaf vegetable), ladies’ fingers and chicken meat thrown away by markets, they will be taken in as food,” she told reporters here on Saturday.
Nurul, who previously lived in Siol Kandis, said her family was chased away from there until they found an old container near where they were looking for sustenance.
“There used to be a lot of grass in the area but we cut them to make them a home. When I was out of work, I would look for scrap metal and empty cans to sell.
“With a salary of RM40 a day previously, we couldn’t afford a more comfortable home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Marikan Abu Seman, 52, the head of the other family said financial constraints had forced his family to stay in the other container.
“My salary of about RM20 to RM50 a day is used to buy rice and other needs and that is why I cannot afford to rent a house.
“While living here, we encounter snakes in addition to wet conditions during rainy days.
“But when it is sunny, we will be hot and sweaty because the container is small,” he said.
Marikan was grateful that their hardships had finally attracted the attention of the authorities.
“I hope I can find a better job soon. I can’t rely too much on people for help,” he said, adding that he planned to cut grass and looked forward to owning a lawn mower soon.
On Saturday, Nurul’s and Marikan’s families were temporarily relocated to a shop at Kota Sentosa while waiting to rent houses from Housing Development Corporation (HDC); the rental of the shop is being borne by Batu Kitang state constituency.
